Cleaning the air we breathe...

"Clean coal technology" describes a new generation of energy processes that sharply reduce air emissions and other pollutants from coal-burning power plants.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the U.S. Department of Energy conducted a joint program with industry and State agencies to demonstrate the best of these new technologies at scales large enough for companies to make commercial decisions. More than 20 of the technologies tested in the original program achieved commercial success.

The early program, however, was focused on the environmental challenges of the time - primarily concerns over the impact of acid rain on forests and watersheds. In the 21st century, additional environmental concerns have emerged - the potential health impacts of trace emissions of mercury, the effects of microscopic particles on people with respiratory problems, and the potential global climate-altering impact of greenhouse gases.  

Coal will remain one of the nation's lowest-cost electric power sources for the foreseeable future. There is a new commitment to even more advanced clean coal technologies.

More than half of the electricity generated in America today comes from coal. We would face even greater energy shortages and higher prices today if we weren't blessed with this natural resource. Research into new clean coal technologies has allowed the environmental challenges of coal to be addressed.

Building on the successes of the original program, the new clean coal initiative encompasses a broad spectrum of research and large-scale projects that target today's most pressing environmental challenges.

The Clean Coal Power Initiative is providing government co-financing for new coal technologies that can help utilities meet the Clear Skies Initiative to cut sulfur, nitrogen and mercury pollutants from power plants by nearly 70 percent by the year 2018. Also, some of the early projects are showing ways to reduce greenhouse emissions by boosting the efficiency by which coal plants convert coal to electricity or other energy forms.

Our customers’ scrubber technologies are capable of reducing the emissions of sulfur, nitrogen and mercury pollutants by 95% to 99%. Visible Edge® is proud to be taking part in the introduction of this technology into our eco-system. With this technology, the introduction of carbon capture and more efficient burning technologies, Visible Edge® is helping to clean the air we breathe.

Sample Absorber

Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization (WFGD) Unit